Ducati currently occupies second position in the constructors’ championship, 17 points behind Yamaha , while three of its riders – Pramac’s Johann Zarco and those of the factory team Bagnaia and Jack Miller – occupy three of the top four positions in the fight for the drivers title.
Zarco is Quartararo’s biggest rival at this point in the season, although he is 34 points behind, while Bagnaia is third in the standings but with a difference of 47 points compared to the Yamaha rider.
Bagnaia made a flying start to 2021, scoring podiums in three of the first four races, but crashed out leading at Mugello and dropped out of the top four at Barcelona, Sachsenring and Assen.
The Italian’s form, however, is a marked improvement over his first two courses, and his current haul of 109 points is more than the combined total of the tough 2019 and 2020 seasons .
That leaves him satisfied over the first nine races of the 2021 season, but admits that any hope of a title challenge depends on Ducati stepping up its bike in the second half of the year.
“Yes, I’m happy just for that,” said Bagnaia reflecting on his 2021 so far.
“But we have to take a step because if we want to fight for the title, or have a chance to fight for the title, we have to improve.”
“I have to improve as a rider and the bike has to improve like the best. So we will have to work a lot.”
“I will work a lot during the summer break to be prepared, to be more ready in Austria and I would like to talk a lot with the team to find something that will help us, because at the moment Fabio and the Yamaha are one step ahead of us.”
The week before, teammate Jack Miller told Motorsport.com at MotoGP testing in Barcelona that he felt his two wins in 2021 and Bagnaia’s consistency had shown Ducati was right in his decision for Ducati to move both up. to the official team this season.
